Challenge #65 - Fun with Ephemera

Ephemera is defined by Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as "...something of no lasting significance...paper items that were originally meant to be discarded (as posters, broadsides, tickets) after use but have since become collectibles.

Obviously, written by a partner who wants his/her partner to offload their paper stash.

But we're Opus Gluei and we know better, emphemera is COOL stuff and this means a great challenge!

To us, ephemera is any little bits and pieces you have collected - you know, as you're going through the mail and thinking - ooh, that's an interesting logo, photo, etc.

Now is your chance to let that EPHEMERA out - be loud and be proud with your EPHEMERA!!!

Challenge #65 is - FUN WITH EPHEMERA

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Rosemary here and I was looking through my little folder of treasures that catch my eye when I came across a marketing brochure that was trying to entice me to become a direct seller of some natural supplement. BAZINGA! Just what I wanted for some silliness!

First up are two ATCs using two of their top sellers - enhanced with pages from an old book I'm using up for art's sake and the marketing brochure (as well as snips and scraps from my stash of stuff) -

My next project involved a quote from this same brochure that just seemed made for a card - and the added quotation marks are a nice touch - add some paper scraps (including a lace edge punched from a book page) and VOILA - a card!
If you want further deets on these projects - please see my blog

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JANA is going to try to get something done for this challenge. She

had a horrendous trip home from D.C. yesterday and was hours later getting home than she anticipated. It really cut into her planned crafty time. Cuz she had to spend time huggin' on her other daughters and wouldn't give that up. SO... check back maybe on Wednesday, or Thursday, or even tomorrow. Heck she doesn't even know. It'll be a surprise for everyone.

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Saturday Recap - Challenge #64 - What's Cookin' , Good Lookin'

What a week! Sorry the recap is actually being posted on Sunday - ever have that kind of a week? Yep, we thought so!

It is great that you take the challenges and make them your own - using wonderful imagination and real creativity!

We had wonderful entries for this week's challenge and want to share them with you - in absolutely no particular order.

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First up we have a great pun and a marvelous friendship card, who's heart wouldn't smile to see Diane's card!?! So fresh, fun, colorful, and sweet!

Of course, Electra makes us smile too with her ATC featuring lots of great bits and pieces (check out that rough and tough cowboy) including a very cool background of stamped utensils (here comes the chuck wagon)

We were also smiling for Hazel's cute as a button Forever friends enjoying a Christmas treat, what a great card, and it makes you feel not only accomplished for getting a jumpstart on the holidays, but also a cool respite if you have the Xmas music playing while you're making cards and feeling festive!

Stacie's got us thinking about camping and having a lovely treat around the campfire, her bear is fun, not scary and this is a grand tri-fold card - you should check it out! (and she used the name of our challenge, so how cool is that?)

This little chef on Kim's card is very clever, the Happy Day folds back down over the birthday treat as a cover! So cute!!!!

When I first saw this plate of delicious food, I thought - ooh, that's a great way to interpret our challenge too - make something yummy! Then I saw this delightful tiny creation perched on Le's hand for scale and we're really loving this. What a great idea and really well done!

Mernie's card is so happy and sweet, and the name made us smile - Garden Bun Bun Fairy. A delightful little garden fairy who bears birthday carrots for one and all! YUMMY!

Benedicte made a card that bears a treat for its recipient. Very clever and totally wonderful. What a nice surprise beautifullly presented for its recipient!

The talented Chat Noir made these sumptuous (and delicious looking ATCs) using handmade and decoupage paper. Really lovely and gorgeous saturated color!

When you see this beautiful card of Jess', you may find yourself reaching out to touch the screen or run quickly to your kitchen and see if you have a basket of plump berries to enjoy! (and a picnic spot)

Lovely card!

Thank you so much for your entries, we love to enjoy your creativity and see where you take our challenges!

Challenge #64 - What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

Your challenge this week is a food theme. Incorporate food into your creation. You know,

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What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

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Pretty simple isn't it?

That's the point, lots of room to interpret however you like.

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Jana here: I made some MENU DICE. I made three of them to help jump-start the menu planning. The one on the far left is for side dishes (steamed rice, flavored rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or fries), the middle one is for the main entree (beef, pork, chicken, seafood, sausage or pasta) and the one on the right designates the style (American, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Take-Out or Go-Out). It's very simple, roll one of the dice to get a general direction. Or roll all of the dice to get the whole meal.

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I also got a bit further with my photo stand recipe holder. A few months back I got this photo holder at a craft store (with a coupon - SCORE) and decided that it would be GREAT as a recipe holder. It is PERFECT. It holds the recipes up above the bowls and ingredients, so you can see the recipe without a problem.

I started out with a digital design for my "awesome RIBS",

And then picked out a matching side dish of "Broccole Salad", (this card was made the old-fashioned way with paper and glue)

And figured I'd end the meal with a scrumptious dessert of "Pink Lemonade Pie". (this card was also made the old fashioned way)

I made a card too, but you'll have to go see it on my blog. I think I have shown enough here for one week.

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Rosemary here - currently the family classic recipes and new classics reside in a blue plastic binder. Practical, but dull. It's a mishmash of clippings, photocopies, and it looks junky. So when Jana and I were discussing this challenge, I thought hmmm...this is a great opportunity to do something more colorful, more interesting, and so on with all these recipes.

I was going to make a chipboard album but realized that it wouldn't be that practical either since it will need to take a bit of a beating and while a little distressing makes for a cute look, it doesn't work for actual use.

So, I'm using an 8"x8" scrapbook album, with a canvas cover it will withstand more abuse AND with plastic sleeves inside, the actual recipes might actually make it a generation longer!

(don't bust my chops too much for my amateurish attempt to take out family names from my recipe pages)

The first two recipes had to be two of my most used recipes - a delicious dessert and a great recipe for using up leftover turkey (hey, the holidays aren't THAT far away)

Used a French/Creole flavor for this page

and then a homespun look for this page

(more details on what I did can be found at my personal blog)

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Let's see what you can COOK UP this week!

Saturday Recap - Challenge #63 - Make Someone Smile

What a wonderful response we received from this challenge - every one of you made us smile with your creativity and hard work.  It sure shows in the projects you submitted.

Some made us smile from their sheer beauty, some were delightful and sentimental, there were witty/ironic projects, others were sassy and spirited, and some just plain outrageously humorous!  

We laughed, chuckled, giggled, and smiled wide and constantly!  Now, how great is it that?  Absolutely perfect!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS CHALLENGE WORK - IT WAS GREAT VISITING YOUR BLOGS

By the way, blurf by each other's blogs, not only for the challenge link but stop, take a look around, and you'll be amazed at all the creative inspiration out there.  You may make a new bloggy buddy to follow or to drop in on every once in a while.

Hope that you come by on Sunday for our next challenge!  In the meantime, have a wonderful smiling weekend!

Challenge # 63 - Sending Smiles

This week's challenge is simple.

Make something that will make someone smile.

That's it. The only requirement.



Well, I guess there are two, because we also want you to post and then link to it here.

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Jana here: Rosemary and I discuss what the challenges will be. We go back and forth with ideas. Expanding on one, refining it. Well, when Rosemary suggested this one, I knew right away that I would make more cards for our HEROS. I am working on a second box of 100 cards to send to OPERATION WRITE HOME. And now without any further blabbering, here are my smiles for the week:





(Above card was made using all Stamping Up supplies. I made it at a monthly stamp club meeting, that's how I know.)





(Above card was made using whatever was at hand in my studio. It's more indicative of what I do.)







(Another Stampin' Up club card.)








(Another of my own creations.)





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And now a smile for you.





How do you make a tissue dance?





Answer: HERE





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Rosemary here and my project is a card that I hope will bring a smile to its recipient. The sentiment reads "God loves you just the way you are." That's something many of us find hard to accept, because we're so critical of ourselves and so quick to judge that we're flawed, wrong, whatever. But we're loved, even when we think we're unlovable. So, if that doesn't make someone smile, then check their pulse.

Please share how you are making others smile this week.

Show Off Time

The projects this week are outta this world. You all made our mouths drop open. Some of us even gasped. These are all amazing. Your talent never seizes to humble me. I am honored to be associated with you artists.


Amy's moon is just heavenly. The background color is one of my fav's, so that naturally caught my eye. This piece is cheery and whimsical and just downright makes me smile.

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I am always pleasantly surprised at how beautiful Chat Noir's black and white projects turn out. And this one is no different. The creativity and vision here are fantastic. Love that Earth is bling.

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Gini's Lady and Knight Errant were submitted for the Ice Cream challenge. I love these sherbert colors. You really must check out her blog. The stories are hilarious. I do hope Knight Errant can handle this damsel.

(Remember, you can always submit a project for ANY of our challenges. We just want to see what you've made. You know, in case we want to copy it. I mean, admire it. Yeah, that's it, admire it.)(If one link is closed, hit up the current one - again, we're cool like that)

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Electra's green alien ATC has captured my heart. He's just adorable. And a bit nervous. But I guess I would be too on a foreign planet.

We love that you play with us. You all are so very talented and we appreciate that you share your talents.

FAR OUT

(I really feel like I need to add MAN to the above statement - KWIM?)

Thank you.

Challenge # 62 - Far Out

This week we are sending you into space. This time it's outer space. Martians, aliens, robots, spaceships, moons, planets, heck, even the Zodiac is fair game.

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Jana here: I made a card for my hubby's birthday. I know, it should be a little more grown up, but it wouldn't match his GI Joe themed party. (This one doesn't either, but at least it's cute.)

This week we have a guest designer. Melissa made her father a birthday card.

For more details about Jana's and Melissa's cards go to Jana's blog I CAN'T WANNA.

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Rosemary here and my project is a birthday card for a boy

I used three papers from a cute little set entitled Rockets 'n' Sprockets (Recollections, purchased at Michael's)

For more details, please go to my personal blog

I apologize for the poor appearance of the card, my digital camera has died

I guess I overused it and so I've treated myself to a new one that hasn't arrived...yet...

and I'm feeling really lost without a working camera, so I had to scan.  You can't tell it from the scan, but the robot head is on pop dots for some dimensional interest!

Look!  A second project just added!!!  I used stamps from the same manufacturer as the papers and used them to stamp an unfinished wood frame I painted glossy red.  Add an adorable photo of my nephew (noshing on his s'more) and his wonderful mommy and done!

Now let's see your SPACE PROJECT.

Saturday Recap - Challenge #60 and #61

Oh, sorry we're late with the last recap! It's been a busy summer - hey, isn't summer when we're supposed to SLOW down? Harumph! Apparently not this summer.

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Let's look at Challenge #60 - Anything But a Card (an ABC Challenge). It's lovely to see other projects that you work on! We're going to take a look, in no particular order:

First up is our bloggy buddy Susan's beautiful ATC - limited colors but how the colors are used really sets a mood to the piece - that is so tricky to do well but it sure is done wonderfully here!



Friend of the OG Hazel submitted two projects, first is a scripture-inspired layout and is gentle but powerful in its impact. Love the heart within a heart (which to me came across as always having the Lord's love surrounding us). The torn paper is also an eye-catching and powerful element as well.




then in a completely different mood is the skinni that Hazel made and shared with us. Blue and white china is so crisp and clean and refreshing (even stamped!) and this is no exception.

Our dear friend Electra made a collaged house that is so fun and happy that you wish you could live there. It makes me think of that old old movie You Can't Take it With You,where there's all sorts of things happening from attic to basement! Loving the little one poised at the roof!

Our longtime friend of the OG blog Divya shared her home decor project - she embellished simple frames with tiny mirrors. It really adds such a lovely element to the frames!

Like Divya, Carol took a plain element and made it fantastic. Wow is the first thing we thought of seeing this plaque. Hard to believe it started off plainly, Carol made it her own and it is so wonderfully girly and pretty with delicate embellishment and romantic touches. Beautiful!

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Now, as for the last challenge - #61, we asked you to share your crafty space with your fellow OG'ers, and we're so happy that several of you took on the challenge of showing your creative hideaways. There really isn't a recap to be done of that but a sincere THANKS for your Poobahs for being brave and playing along with us! If you haven't checked each other's blogs out, we highly recommend that you do because there is not only a peek at how someone else channels their creative spirit, but also you need to see what other projects you're all up to! We get so happy (and INSPIRED) with what you're working on!

Don't forget to check back here on Sunday and see what the latest Opus Gluei challenge will be!